Good Night: An Apocalypse Story

After spending a few days taking a well-deserved break, Stephanie and Harley settled into a routine of training, hunting, reading, and fucking. The quiet respite allowed them to recharge, search the nearby houses, and gather anything of value or interest. Many of the books they found were too damaged to be useful, but a few, carefully sealed and preserved, were still in good condition.

Harley gravitated toward the fiction books, eager to dive into stories that offered a distraction from the harsh world they lived in. Stephanie, on the other hand, chose books on science, physics, math, and electronics. She devoured them, finishing most during their break. Even before her Nocturnis awakening, she had always been a fast reader with a knack for remembering scientific concepts. But now, her enhanced abilities made her memory even sharper and her reading faster. She soaked in every piece of knowledge, storing it away with perfect clarity.

The days passed in a mix of relaxation and preparation for what lay ahead. But soon enough, they both knew it was time to move on.

After their break, they packed their gear and prepped their bikes for the next leg of the journey—heading toward the Hungarian border. With the sun rising over the horizon, the two women stood beside their bikes, double-checking everything before departure.

As Stephanie swung her leg over her bike and adjusted her gear, she felt a playful slap on her butt. She turned to see Harley standing there with a wide grin plastered on her face.

“Again?” Stephanie asked, a playful smirk forming on her lips.

“Just couldn’t resist,” Harley said, shrugging innocently. “I told you, I’ve got a thing for asses. Especially yours.”

Stephanie chuckled, shaking her head. “Yeah, you weren’t kidding about that.” She gave Harley a teasing look before revving her bike’s engine, the rumble filling the quiet air.

“Let’s go, ass lover,” Stephanie called over her shoulder as they both set off toward the border.

As Stephanie and Harley approached the Hungarian border, they encountered an obstacle—a horde of Freaks blocking their path. Stopping their bikes a safe distance away, Stephanie reached into her bag and pulled out a small bottle with a strange device attached to it. She pressed a button, activating it, then handed the bottle to Harley.

“Throw this as far as you can,” Stephanie instructed.

Without hesitation, Harley hurled the bottle with all her strength, sending it flying far away from their position. A few seconds after it hit the ground, the device triggered a massive explosion, accompanied by an ear-splitting sound that echoed through the area. The horde immediately reacted to the loud noise, turning and moving in the direction of the explosion, clearing the path for Stephanie and Harley.

As soon as the Freaks were far enough away, the two women revved their engines and sped across the border, successfully avoiding a potentially dangerous confrontation.

While they rode through the quiet, abandoned landscape, Harley glanced over at Stephanie, curiosity in her eyes. “What was that?” she asked, still impressed by the effect of the small device.

Stephanie smirked slightly. “It’s a bottle of sodium azide. When it gets an electrical charge, it decomposes into huge volumes of nitrogen gas, which causes an explosion. You can find it in the cars steering wheels, they have it in the airbags.”

Harley blinked, processing the explanation. “So that’s why you’ve been scraping car steering wheels, huh?”

Stephanie nodded with a grin. “Exactly. Useful stuff if you know how to handle it. I figured it would come in handy, and here we are.”

Harley shook her head in admiration. “You’re full of surprises.”

“Just trying to keep us alive,” Stephanie replied, her smile softening as they rode on, the horde now far behind them as they ventured deeper into Hungary, leaving the the border zone behind.

After 2 weeks of nonstop driving, Stephanie and Harley finally arrived near Berlin. They had avoided stopping at any camps along the way, and though they had a few run-ins with raiders, they handled them quickly and efficiently. Now, as they neared the city, the two women chatted about finding a more permanent base in the area, knowing they'd need time to locate the facility.

"We’re gonna be here for a while," Harley said as they rode side by side. “How about we find some raiders, torture them for info on their base, then clear it out? We could take it over, and if we're lucky, we might even get ourselves a bunker.”

Stephanie smirked, liking the idea. “Sounds like a solid plan to me.”

They rode on, dodging Freaks and taking out a few that got too close. Eventually, they spotted something—a string connecting two trees ahead. The same type of trap they had encountered before. As they scanned the horizon, they saw a man on a motorcycle, speeding recklessly toward the wire.

“He’s not gonna see it,” Harley muttered.

Sure enough, the biker hit the wire at full speed, and with a sickening thud, he was thrown off his bike, skidding across the ground.

Stephanie and Harley reacted instantly, driving toward the scene. As they approached, several raiders emerged from their hiding spots, clearly intending to take advantage of the situation. But the moment they spotted Stephanie and Harley, two of the raiders—a man and a woman—raised their weapons, intending to shoot.

Their Nocturnis reflexes kicked in. Before the raiders could pull their triggers, Stephanie and Harley shot them—Stephanie hitting the man dead in the head, and Harley wounding the woman in the hand and leg, keeping her alive.

Another raider, who had been going toward the downed biker, saw the quick work the two women had made of his comrades. He immediately dropped his weapon and raised his hands. “I surrender!” he called out, his voice trembling.

The injured raider woman cursed at him, calling him a coward.

Stephanie, ever sharp and observant, understood everything the raider woman was saying. Her father had taught her many languages, even ones he didn’t know, using books and dictionaries for her to study. Harley also spoke several languages, but not to the same fluency as Stephanie.

Getting off her bike, Stephanie walked toward the surrendered raider, while the biker who had been thrown by the wire stood up, groaning in pain. She kept her tone cool but firm. “Where’s your base?”

The raider, clearly scared, answered quickly. “Between Berlin and Potsdam, near the Königsweg Bridge. We’re holed up in an old World War II underground bunker. Please, just let me go.”

Satisfied with his answer, Stephanie gave a small nod. “You can leave.”

As the raider began to walk away, the man who had been knocked down by the wire suddenly pulled out his gun. In one quick motion, he shot the raider in the back, killing him instantly. Without hesitation, he then turned and shot the injured woman on the ground, ending her life as well.

Stephanie and Harley exchanged a look, slightly surprised by his actions.

The man noticed their expressions and shrugged. “I’m Hans, by the way. And don’t look at me like that—I know you were going to shoot that guy and kill the woman too. I just saved you some bullets.”

Stephanie raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue. Hans had a point.

“Well, Hans,” Harley said with a grin, “welcome to the party.”

As Hanz dusted himself off and picked up his bike, he inspected it for any damage, then glanced over at Stephanie and Harley. “I’m from a camp on Pfaueninsel,” he said, referring to the island in the Havel River. “It’s not too far from here. If you ever want to come by, do some jobs, trade, or anything, you’re welcome. But from what I see,” he added, giving them a knowing look, “you two are looking for something more... secluded. Like a base, right?”

He motioned to the now-dead raider, implying the bunker they had been asking about. As he swung his leg over his bike, he took out a radio and tossed it to Stephanie. She caught it effortlessly.

“Take that as a favor,” Hans said, adjusting himself on the bike. “You can use it to contact me or my camp if you need anything. Maybe one day I’ll need your help too.”

With a nod of acknowledgment, Hans revved his engine and took off, leaving Stephanie and Harley alone on the road with their next target set.

Stephanie turned the radio over in her hands, examining it briefly before placing it on her bike’s saddlebags. “Well, that was interesting,” she remarked, watching Hans disappear into the distance. She then turned to Harley with a determined look. “Let’s go find that bunker.”

Harley grinned, revving her bike in agreement. With the coordinates from the raider in mind, they set off, ready to locate the World War II bunker and claim it as their own.

Arriving at the location the raider had mentioned, Stephanie and Harley scanned the area until they found a hidden hatch tucked away among the overgrown foliage. It was subtle, almost camouflaged, but unmistakably the entrance to the underground bunker. As they carefully opened the hatch, they immediately heard voices from below—a group of raiders talking and moving around.

They couldn’t go down directly. If they attempted to descend the ladder, they would be sitting ducks, vulnerable to gunfire. Stephanie had another plan.

She reached into her pack and pulled out a glass bottle filled with a yellowish-green gas. Harley, noticing the strange color, raised an eyebrow. “What the hell is that?”

“Chlorine gas,” Stephanie said, matter-of-factly.

Harley blinked in surprise. “Chlorine gas? How did you make that?”

Stephanie smiled, always enjoying an opportunity to showcase her resourcefulness. “Using sulfuric acid from old car batteries and some salt. It's not too hard if you know what you're doing.”

With that, Stephanie popped open the hatch just enough to drop the bottle in. As soon as it hit the floor below, she quickly closed the hatch again. Harley grabbed a thick branch from nearby, jamming it through the handle of the hatch to ensure no one could open it from the inside.

Seconds later, they heard the thuds of raiders trying to force the hatch open, but the chlorine gas was already filling the room below. The sounds of coughing and panicked banging echoed up, followed by silence as the poisonous gas did its work. A few minutes passed before everything went quiet.

Stephanie and Harley waited a little longer for the gas to dissipate enough to safely enter. Stephanie moved to lift the hatch, but Harley grabbed her arm, concern etched across her face. “Are you sure? That gas is deadly.”

Stephanie, calm and confident, replied, “Don’t worry. I tested it on myself in small doses. We have high resistance to toxins thanks to our Nocturnis abilities.”

Reluctantly, Harley nodded. After hearing Stephanie’s assurance, she agreed to climb down too.

They opened the hatch and peered down into the bunker. Bodies lay scattered below, the raiders collapsed where they had tried to escape. The air still smelled faintly of the chlorine, but with their enhanced physiology, they knew they could handle it. Without further hesitation, Stephanie descended the ladder first, with Harley following close behind.

The bunker was eerily quiet now, its previous occupants being bodies on the floor. This place was theirs for the taking.